Since the early 1970s, western Europeans and North Americans have become increasingly concerned about an apparent change in the nature and patterns of human migration. For some this change threatens to alter the ethnic and religious composition of their nation-states, their democratic and capitalist traditions, and their liberal social values. The emigration and settlement of Muslims from more than seventy nations to the West has been of some concern. For those in the West who believe in the purity of race, civilization, and culture, or in a super-sessionist “Judeo-Christian” worldview, this movement of Muslims is a menacing threat to what they believe to be a homogeneous Western society.
The Spread Of Islam: The Rise Of Islamic Empires And States
With the death of Muhammad, the Muslim community found itself
without a leader. While as the ‘seal of the prophets’ he could ‘no successor, as a political guide Muhammad was succeeded by the so-
called al Khulafa’ al Rashidun, the four ‘rightly-guided caliphs’ who were
chosen from his most loyal companions. It was during the leadership of these caliphs (632 – 656), and particularly under the second caliph and great statesman ‘Umar ibn al Khattab (634–44), that the conquest of territories outside Arabia began.
Called by the Turks Osmanlıs, after the name of the founder of the dynasty Osman I (Ar., ʿUthmān), the Ottomans were Oghuz (Tk., Oğuz) Turks who came out of Central Asia and created a vast state that ultimately encompassed all of southeastern Europe up to the northern frontiers of Hungary, Anatolia, and the Middle East up to the borders of Iran as well as the Mediterranean coast of North Africa almost to the Atlantic Ocean. As a multiethnic, multi-religious, and multicultural entity, the Ottoman Empire was the last of the great Islamic empires, which emerged in the later Middle Ages and continued its existence until the early twentieth century.
With Turkey having flirted with democracy, it seems appropriate to examine how . . . or if . . . Islam can exist under the same roof as
democracy. This post examines the debate on the relationship between Islam and democracy. It begins by tracing the historical roots of the debate. It then considers the so-called establishment
view of the debate, which comes from Western scholars whose writings reach a large audience by virtue of their dissemination by mainstream and influential newspapers, intellectual journals, and
publishing houses.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (b. 1954) is a Turkish politician. Few prime ministers have had a greater impact on Turkish political life than
Tayyip Erdoğan. Assuming office after a long and tortuous legal struggle and exclusion by the establishment, Erdoğan presided over the key legislative process of fulfillment of the Copenhagen criteria
(required by the European Union for EU membership), the revolutionary legal changes that dramatically altered the balance of
power between the military and civilian government, and the creation of a new economic structure with foreign investment that has been reshaping Turkeyʾs political landscape.
Fethullah Gülen (b. 1941), the founder of Turkeyʾs largest faith-oriented Islamic movement, is one of the countryʾs most important
Muslim thinkers and a prolific writer. His followers collectively
Turkey: In The Aftermath Of A Failed Coup
Turkey emerged from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I (1914 – 1918 ). Unlike most Middle Eastern countries, Turkey won its independence soon after the war and quickly developed into a modernized state based on Western political models. However, tensions between the secular government and citizens calling for a stronger Islamic presence in the nation continue to the present day.
Coup d’état? . . . Or, Self-Inflicted Coup?
On 15 July 2016, a coup d’état was attempted in Turkey against state
institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Turkish
Armed Forces that organized themselves as the Peace at Home Council.
They attempted to seize control of several key places in Ankara, Istanbul, and elsewhere, but failed to do so after forces loyal to the
state defeated them.
The Gülen Movement (GM), called “Hizmet” [service] by loyalists and
“Cemaat” [community] by critics), refers to a collection of individuals and institutions that act in accordance with the teachings of a retired,
self-exiled Muslim Turkish preacher, Muhammed Fethullah Gülen. Anchored upon a foundation of private (or privately managed)
educational institutions, the GM also includes initiatives in news and entertainment media, international trade, finance, information
communication technologies, construction, legal services, accounting,
and public relations.
How Turkey’s Democracy Went From Insanity To ’Beyond Insanity’
In December 2015, Russia’s defense ministry said it had proof that Erdoğan and his family were benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil from Islamic State-held territory in Syria and Iraq. “Turkey is the main consumer of the oil stolen from its rightful owners, Syria and Iraq.”
Erdogan’s Election Machine Is Rusty And Worn Out
On the evening of June 16, Turkey will remember a ritual of democracy that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has made the country forget over its 17 years in power — a televised debate between
political rivals Binali Yildirim of the AKP and Ekrem Imamoglu of the
main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the two main contenders in the June 23 rerun of the mayoral election in Istanbul.
On July 15, 2016, in an attempted coup, a faction of the Turkish military bombed government buildings, blocked roads and bridges and attempted to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The coup attempt was quelled by the next day — but Turkey has been feeling the repercussions ever since.
Turkey, Terrorists, Erd and NATO
The so-called “terrorists” to whom Erdoğan is referring are Kurdish politicians, political activists, and refugees who live in Sweden and Finland. In particular, those who engage in advocacy for political equality and the official recognition of Kurds in Turkey and Syria. The Turkish government wants the two Nordic nations to extradite these individuals to Turkey.
Turkey’s New Violent Political Culture
At the heart of the matter is a culture that programs most less-educated masses {and in Turkey average schooling is 6.5 years} into a)
converting the “other” and, if that is not possible, (b) physically hurting the “other.” A deep societal polarization since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power
in 2002 has widened to frightening levels
The first Saudi state was founded in 1744 upon a partnership between Muḥammad Ibn Saʿūd and Muḥammad Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb. The former was the emir of Diriyah; the latter was a religious scholar who promoted the oneness of God in its absolute form, disallowing the then common practices of intercession, shrine visitations, and praying to saints. The devout supporters of Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb became known as Wahhābīs, but his supporters do not identify with this term; to them, it is derogatory, and they prefer the label ahl al-tawḥīd (the people of monotheism) or muwaḥḥidūn (unitarians).
Modern Saudi Arabia is the third kingdom under the Saʿūd ruling family in contemporary history. It was formally proclaimed in 1932 by ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Āl Saʿūd and is ruled by his descendants, although a 1992 law, updated in 2006, expanded the potential pool of successors. In 2010, the government estimated the number of Saudi citizens to be nearly 28 million, although unofficial sources disputed these figures, placing it closer to 18 million, with an additional eight to ten million expatriate workers primarily drawn from other Arabic-speaking and Asian countries along with close to two million illegal residents who entered the kingdom for hajj and never left.
Islam And Power In Saudi Arabia
In this section we will examine the relationship between religion and
politics in Saudi Arabia. Items covered will be the nature and development of “Wahhabism,” the religious revival and reform movement founded by Muhammad Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab, Wahhabism’s
connection to violence, debates over who speaks for Wahhabism, Wahhabism’s influence on the status of women in Saudi Arabia, and the impact of the global communications era. Also addressed will be the issue of whether Wahhabism can reform itself.
Country Reports: Iran – An Overview
Iranians have always called their country Iran (Land of the Aryans, “noble people”), but outsiders long used “Persia,” referring to Pars, now Fars, a southern province. “Persia” remained in use until 1935, when
Tehran formally requested the world community to use the name Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran came into existence following the 1979
revolution. The politics, perspective, and personality of Ayatollah Khomeini — Khomeinism — became the dominant discourse of post-
revolutionary Iran. However, Khomeinism was one among many
sociopolitical forces of the revolution. Pre-revolutionary Iran never
experienced a homogeneous Islamist political culture
Iran is an Islamic country in the Middle East. Once called Persia by outsiders, its inhabitants have always called it Iran, meaning Land of the Aryans, or “noble people.” In 1935 the government formally
requested that the world community adopt the name Iran. The region has one of the world’s oldest civilizations, dating back to 2700 B.C.E. Iran borders the Caspian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Strait of Hormuz
Commonly held views on Iranian women tend to regard the situation of
Muslim-Iranian woman as one of categorical victimhood. However, a
close examination of their situation in the past century shows a far more nuanced picture of Iranian women, conveying that they can be
seen as agents of social change. Although it is true that there are areas where the situation of women, especially vis-à-vis their legal rights, is discriminatory, in many other spheres, women have taken major strides. Evidence of women being influential in the Iranian
political arena can be found in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Iranian Government’s 40 Years
Of Hatred Towards America
It was Iran, not the US, that breached international law by carrying out the US Embassy takeover in Tehran . . . It was also Iran, not the
US, that immediately began using its proxies, such as Hezbollah, to commit terrorism and incite antagonism towards America.
The History Of Law And Justice In Iran
Prior to the Safavid conquest of Iran, Shīʿī Islam was not hegemonic in
the region. Under the Safavid dynasty (1501–1722), however, Iran’s
rulers imposed a legal and judicial culture based on Imāmī Shīʿī jurisprudence. The Safavid shahs, acting as deputies of the hidden
twelfth Imam, made the Shīʿī clergy an official partner in state power.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is actively involved in the Gaza war. Relations with Hamas which had deteriorated over Syria are back on track. Iran armed Hamas and Islamic Jihad with rockets and other
weapons and is reportedly now directly instructing Hamas commanders in the Gazan tunnels.
Iran’s Supreme Leader: “Jihad Will Continue Until America Is No More.”
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, all but said on Sunday (May 25, 2014) that negotiations over the country’s illicit nuclear
program are over and that the Islamic Republic’s ideals include destroying America.
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Last Update: 01/2021
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